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Wednesday, 12 June 2013

British Museum: Pompeii Live to be screened globally

The British
Museum has said 1,000 cinemas across the world will screen a recording of
Pompeii Live, a tour of its exhibition of Roman life before a devastating
volcanic eruption.

The museum said 70% of tickets have been sold for the
live screening in the UK and Ireland on 18 June.

The event will be replayed in cinemas in 51 countries
later in the year.

It features objects recovered from the ruins of
Pompeii and Herculaneum, both wiped out by Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.

The exhibition, Life and Death in Pompeii and
Herculaneum, closes on 29 September.

It received five-star reviews from critics in March -
with the Daily
Telegraph noting "the quality of much of what has come to London
beggars belief".

The BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz said the
exhibition offered "a snapshot of daily life 2,000 years ago".

The exhibition has proved a hit with patrons, with
more than 260,500 tickets sold and the museum's opening hours extended to cope
with demand.

Pompeii Live will be introduced by the British
Museum's director, Neil MacGregor, and will be presented by Peter Snow and
Bettany Hughes.

Countries that have signed up to the later showings
include China, Colombia, India, Israel, Malta and Norway.

"This kind of innovative broadcasting -
unthinkable even five years ago - has opened up new ways of sharing knowledge
and accessing objects for adult and young audiences alike," said MacGregor.